Rana has the reputation of being a do-gooder in the area, often sponsoring weddings of young girls and attending even small functions if given an invite.

Rana parted ways with Dhumal after he was denied a BJP ticket in the 2012 assembly elections.

Rajinder Rana learnt the tricks of political survival from one of BJP’s tallest leaders in Himachal Pradesh, former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. On Monday, Rana turned the tables on his onetime mentor and beat Dhumal in Sujanpur by around 2,900 votes, triggering the biggest upset of this election in the hill state.

By beating BJP’s chief ministerial face in the midst of a saffron wave, Rana has gone from being a political lightweight to a giant-killer in a matter of hours. “I had full faith in the voters of my constituency,” he told TOI after winning. “They have recognized my hard work. Sujanpur has been my ‘karmabhoomi’ for more than a decade. There was no way I could have lost.”

Rana has the reputation of being a do-gooder in the area, often sponsoring weddings of young girls and attending even small functions if given an invite.

Though buoyant in his victory, Rana refused to boast about his win and says, “Before the election, I had conveyed to Dhumalji to reconsider his decision of fighting from Sujanpur and contest from Hamirpur, where he had done work in the last few years,” Rana added. “But he seemed to be under some compulsion and did not give in. You are bound to burn your fingers if you put your hand in boiling water. At the same time, he is my elder. I will seek his blessings when I meet him.”

But he does say that despite being chief minister twice, Dhumal could not initiate numerous development projects in the area. “The results have shown that having a big name is not enough to woo voters. Your work has to speak for you,” he says.

Rana parted ways with Dhumal after he was denied a BJP ticket in the 2012 assembly elections. He contested as an Independent and defeated BJP candidate from Sujanpur, Anita Verma, by 14,000 votes.

Realising his potential, former Congress chief minister Virbhadra Singh recommended Rana’s as a candidate against Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur in Hamirpur in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He lost the seat but his willingness to take on Dhumal made him a darling with Virbhadra.

“Having been in the BJP, I know how they get things done,” he says when asked how he would be able to come up to the expectation of his supporters. Despite the big win, he refuses to set his sights too high. “I am a party worker and will remain so. The rest is up to the high command,” he says.